Daily news and links for Wednesday

TEAM TALK

• Patriots Unfiltered: Breaking down the roster, Pre-training camp ponderings. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• Tom E. Curran gives us six reasons why the Patriots will be better in 2025. 1. There’s an entirely new leadership council ready to ascend.
• Danny Jaillet identifies one reason for optimism for the 2025 Patriots that isn’t Drake Maye.
• Matthew Schmidt calls attention to the potential nightmare scenario of Drake Maye having a sophomore slump and Stefon Diggs not working out.
• Cameron Ellis relays an NFL analyst on why the Pats could have...

Previewing the Patriots safety heading into his first season with the team.

Despite fielding one of the better safety groups in the NFL on paper, the New England Patriots did not get the desired results out of the position in 2024. Kyle Dugger struggled with injuries; Jabrill Peppers spent a majority of the year on the commissioner’s exempt list; Marte Mapu and Jaylinn Hawkins were role players more so than starter-caliber contributors.

While the group’s outlook for 2025 will largely depend on Dugger and Peppers rebounding, the Patriots also made sure to add some more competition to the mix. One...

With a great contract comes great expectations. No one knows that better than Milton Williams.

The New England Patriots signed Williams in March to a four-year, $104 million contract, plucking him from the Eagles following their victory in Super Bowl LIX.

Despite playing less than 50% of the snaps during his four years in Philadelphia, Williams comes to Foxboro knowing the Patriots are expecting more from the 2021 third-round pick.

The 26-year-old Williams, for his part, is embracing “(Mike) Vrabel’s approach of being hardest on the team’s best players,” ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss reported after last week’s mandatory minicamp.

“I’m ready...

Downing joined the Patriots alongside head coach Mike Vrabel earlier this offseason.

After it failed to meet expectations during the 2024 season, the New England Patriots under new head coach Mike Vrabel opted to overhaul their wide receiver group from the ground up. That process included investments in both free agency and the draft, as well as the addition of a new position coach.

Todd Downing, Vrabel’s former offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans, was hired to replace previous wideouts coach Tyler Hughes in early February. Like his predecessor, Downing is a newbie as an NFL receivers coach: New England...

Kobee Minor was the final pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, but the New England Patriots cornerback is out to prove “Mr. Irrelevant” is a misnomer.

Minor’s path to the NFL was anything but direct, and that journey could be exactly what helps him stick around.

Originally a safety at Lake Dallas High School, he transitioned to cornerback at Texas Tech, then transferred twice, first to Indiana, then to Memphis, chasing opportunity wherever it took him.

That final stop paid off. He started 11 games for the Tigers, forced two fumbles, tallied 38 tackles, and allowed just over half of...

Submit your questions down below.

The New England Patriots are officially off on break as veterans will not be back until late July when they return for training camp.

So, submit any questions — or whatever else is on your mind — down in the comments below or on Twitter using #PostPulpit.

Stay tuned for Friday’s updated mailbag.

David Andrews has officially hung up his cleats, but the former New England Patriots center won’t be going too far.

On Tuesday, 98.5 The Sports Hub announced that Andrews will be joining the station as a contributor during the 2025 NFL season, appearing on the “Zolak & Bertrand Show” weekly, along with “The Sports Hub Patriots Radio Network Pregame Show.” He will also co-host a video podcast with The Sports Hub’s Patriots reporter Alex Barth.

“David’s leadership and deep understanding of the game made him a standout on the field, and we’re excited to bring that same level of insight...

The New England Patriots were one of the most active teams this offseason, making changes in almost every area.

And because of that, they earned recognition from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who spoke with NFL executives and scouts about their favorite 2025 offseason move.

The Patriots received a mention from one AFC scout.

“I didn’t love their (2024) draft, but I thought they did great this year,” the scout told Fowler. “Kyle Williams has a chance to be a real player. They haven’t had an impact receiver there in a while. A lot of teams loved (running back) TreVeyon Henderson. And...

The New England Patriots were not content with their ugly 2024 campaign, and it led to a busy offseason. The Patriots made changes to their coaching staff and in all three phases in an effort to improve in 2025.

The work started when Jerod Mayo was fired as the team’s head coach shortly after the team’s Week 18 victory over the Buffalo Bills. Mike Vrabel was quickly hired as his replacement, ushering in a new era of football in Foxboro, Mass.

Armed with the most cap space in the league, the Patriots were busy in free agency. Among the [notable...

The New England Patriots are banking on Stefon Diggs being able to successfully return from a torn ACL and produce like the team’s No. 1 wide receiver. Based on his latest social media post, that’s a task Diggs is not taking lightly.

New England signed Diggs to a three-year, $69 million contract in free agency, even though his 2024 campaign came to an end in Week 8 after he suffered his aforementioned injury.

Things got off to a bit of a rocky start for Diggs when a video surfaced of him handling an unidentified pink substance on a boat. Ultimately,...

Daily news and links for Tuesday.

LOCAL LINKS

• Jarrett Bailey predicts how the Patriots offensive stars will perform in 2025.
• Sara Marshall explains why the Patriots might have to cut some young offensive hopefuls before they bloom.
• Cameron Ellis notes the fantasy football world is extremely in on Drake Maye after OTA reports. “It’s not nothing!”
• Mark Daniels talks about how the Patriots continue to reshape their front office and analytics department.
• Alex Barth reports the Patriots have hired 9-year college football veteran Cam McCormick as a scouting assistant.
• Ian Logue’s Patriots Daily Notebook:...

Nothing to see here.

That’s what Michael Lombardi is saying about all those Bill Belichick-Jordon Hudson rumors.

Lombardi, whose time with Belichick dates back to their days with the Cleveland Browns in the 1990s, won a Super Bowl ring in New England as an assistant to the coaching staff.

Currently, he is general manager of the football program at the University of North Carolina. During an appearance last weekend on the ESPN Radio’s “Marty & McGee,” Lombardi said all the attention on Belichick’s relationship is no big deal.

“I mean, a lot of it is just noise,” Lombardi said, [per...